“Oh jeez, Kat. Don’t do this,” Taylor begged.
“What did you say to me?” Kylie asked furiously.
“He told me how much he truly loved you,” Katherine chose her words carefully.
“Shut up! I do not want to hear that you are talking to him. I don’t want to hear anything about Austen from your mouth. Do you understand that?” she hurried into her car. “Why don’t you just go back to California and leave us all alone?” Kylie slammed her door closed and tore away.
Katherine sat back down, dejected. She faced Taylor and confessed, “I was only trying to help.”
“I know,” Taylor acknowledged. “I just don’t think you should talk about my brother to Kylie. Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel?”
It was as if a switch flipped in Katherine’s head and her eyes lit up. “I think that’s what your brother was trying to show me last night. I think he wanted me to understand Kylie’s pain. He needed me to really see how she felt about him to truly understand.”
Katherine slapped her palm against her forehead, “God, I’m such an idiot.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Taylor helped pull Katherine to her feet. “We should probably get going.”
Chapter Ten
“Thank you so much for your hospitality. It was really nice to be here,” Katherine squeezed Taylor’s mom.
“It was nice to have you. Come back soon, okay?”
“We will,” Katherine promised and turned to Blake, “Don’t forget to come visit us soon. We’ll have so much fun.”
Blake blushed and responded quietly, “I will.”
Katherine walked out the front door and toward Taylor’s waiting car. She was excited to get back to school, but a little hesitant to see Cooper.
“Are you nervous to see Cooper?” Taylor asked her from the driver’s seat.
“A little. I don’t know how I’m going to feel when I see him, you know?”
“Yeah. But you still like him, right?” Taylor checked.
“Of course. He’s perfect. But…it’s just not the same as the way I feel about your brother.”
Katherine realized that rationally, she should be head over heels in love with Cooper Donovan. But love wasn’t always rational. And the bond between her and Austen had nothing to do with logic…or ration. It wouldn’t be easy to walk away from him and into Cooper’s arms, even though she assumed it probably should be.
“Right. My brother...the guy who isn’t alive,” Taylor forced the words out.
“I know it’s crazy. But the way I feel when I’m with your brother is unlike anything I’ve ever known. I can’t explain to you how deep my emotions run. I don’t know how.” She struggled to find the right words, but nothing sounded perfect enough.
“Just don’t give up on Cooper, okay? He deserves more from you than that,” Taylor insisted. “Plus, if you let him go, do you know how many stupid girls you’d make happy? They’re too annoying to be that happy.”
Katherine laughed, “I’d completely forgotten about all those girls. Listen, I care about Cooper a lot. I just need to see how I feel when I see him.”
“Well, here’s your chance.” Taylor pulled her car into the parking lot and noticed Danny immediately. “There they are.”
The dozen red roses he held stood out more than he did in his ripped jeans and tight black t-shirt. Cooper stood next to him in jeans and a dark blue shirt, holding three sunflowers.
Katherine felt chills course through her as her heart raced. She rubbed at the goose bumps on her arms. She was definitely still attracted to him.
“I’m getting sweaty,” Katherine admitted to Taylor, who laughed in relief.
“Thank goodness for that.”
“I knew you’d want to know.”
“Well, at least you still like the guy.”
Danny ran to the Taylor’s side of the car and opened the door. She hopped out and leapt into his arms. “For me?” she gestured toward the roses.
“I missed you so much.” Danny handed them to her and proceeded to plant kisses all over her face. Taylor struggled to push him away, but he only tightened his grip.
“I just got back…ugh, don’t annoy me already!” she joked.
“You love it. You love me, remember?” Danny teased.
“I can take that back,” she shot back at him playfully.
“Nope. No take-backs.”
Katherine’s heart pounded a million miles a minute as she watched Cooper head toward her. “I missed you too. A lot,” his voice smoothly informed her. She smiled, but didn’t respond as he handed her the sunflowers.
She grabbed them as Cooper wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He leaned in and his lips pressed against hers. She heard him softly sigh as his tongue slowly found its way inside her mouth. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back, but a part of her that felt like she was being unfaithful to Austen. She knew it sounded crazy, but she couldn’t help it. Was this cheating?
Cooper sensed her hesitation and pulled away. “Is everything okay?” his voice shook with vulnerability.
“I’m just really tired. Thank you so much for my flowers. That was really sweet of you. And sunflowers are my favorite! How’d you know?”
“I didn’t. The moment I saw them in the store, I thought of you.”
“You have good intuition, Mr. Donovan.” She was surprised at how easy it was to fall back into him. There was a level of comfort between them that she genuinely appreciated. It would be so easy to give her whole heart to him, if she had it to give.